This is a thread that Jean-François Nieus has been pursuing for some twenty years, as part of research into the uses of writing, which elevates documents to objects of history in their own right. This approach, developed over several decades, sheds light on medieval society in all its dimensions: cultural, of course, but also social, political, economic, and religious. "Writing was rare in the early Middle Ages. It gradually gained importance in social practices, with a clear shift in the 12th and ^13th centuries—i.e., during the High Middle Ages—when people began to write much more and diversify the formats and functions of writing," he explains. 

Jean-François Nieus is particularly interested in documentary productions associated with the exercise of princely power and seigneurial management, within an area stretching from the Anglo-Norman world to the Southern Netherlands. Princely and noble archives are essential for understanding the relationships of domination in the so-called "feudal" age, that of territorial principalities and seigneurial lordship, but also issues of family identity and lineage, which were central concerns of the aristocracy. "After the mid^-12th century, most noble families began to keep archives, initially consisting of a few received charters, but soon enriched with their own administrative productions. Although the majority of these secular collections have now disappeared, there is evidence of their existence," he explains. The vicissitudes of the history of the great families and the French Revolution contributed to the loss of these fragile documents, so that today only a handful of archives from ^the 12th and 1^3th centuries remain.

Those studied by Jean-François Nieus nevertheless cover a wide range of types: they include "chartriers" (collections of original charters), "cartulaires" (collections of copies of charters), "formulaires " (collections of model charters and letters), "censiers" (descriptions of the property and income belonging to a seigneury), lists of vassals and fiefs, accounts, etc.

Jean-François Nieus also carries out critical editing work. He will soon publish the archives of the Béthune family (now Pas-de-Calais), as well as those of a small abbey linked to these lords, Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Chocques, whose collection, destroyed during the French Revolution, he is reconstructing.

This patient and meticulous work of discovery, deciphering, studying, and publishing sources that are sometimes very scattered helps to restore the memory of an era and enrich the documentation available to researchers.

In addition to administrative writings, Jean-François Nieus is also passionate about an auxiliary science of history: "sigillography," the study of seals. These small wax discs attached to official documents provide a unique window into the cultural representations of the time. In particular, they show how, after 1066, under the influence of William the Conqueror, a new image emerged: that of a knight on his galloping horse, weapon in hand. This motif, which was completely new at the time, quickly spread among princes and nobles, becoming a powerful symbol of chivalry.

Following this evolution, Jean-François Nieus also traces the spread of coats of arms—heraldry—which he sees emerging in the early ^12th century in northern France and the Anglo-Norman region. Equestrian seals, heraldic signs, and chivalric rites such as tournaments thus formed a cultural community that invented and asserted itself in this area.

If the Middle Ages fascinate Jean-François Nieus so much, it is undoubtedly because of their strangeness: a world very distant from our own, often distorted by stereotypes. "It's a difficult period to popularize because it's so different from our own, even though, in reality, we owe it a great deal. What's more, perceptions of it are marred by numerous clichés, and the general public still views it very negatively, as reflected in everyday language by the sinister adjective 'medieval,'" observes the researcher.

What are the reasons for this negative view? The perspective of intellectuals in subsequent eras, who saw it as the origin of all the archaisms they wanted to combat. Nineteenth-century historians, who gave the discipline its scientific foundation, also passed on erroneous interpretations, which contemporary research is gradually correcting. 

Jean-François Nieus appeared in episode 1 of season 3 of the documentary series "Batailles de légende" (Legendary Battles), which focused on the great battle of Bouvines between King Philip II Augustus of France and a coalition led by King John of England (1214).

To understand how the transition to Christianity came about, researchers generally turn to the great authors, and in particular Saint Augustine, the key figure of Christian antiquity whose writings have been preserved the most. Alongside his best-known works (such as The City of God or The Confessions), Saint Augustine is also the author of short treatises on practices such as marriage or baptism. "In my early post-doctoral research, I sought to understand how these short texts by Augustine, and other North African sources, circulated in the West between late antiquity and the early Middle Ages. This was a period of religious mixing when the first Christian communities were setting up systems of initiation and teaching", explains Matthieu Pignot.

Very quickly, the researcher's interest also turned to anonymous or pseudepigraphic texts (erroneously attributed to a known author), which had fallen into oblivion in favor of writings by authors, and which also addressed these questions of religious education. "This is the starting point for my research project. These texts are difficult to study because, circulating under several names, we don't know their true author. We don't know who wrote them, and we know little about their ancient and medieval transmission. It is precisely these grey areas that make them so interesting", continues the historian.

To address this question, Matthieu Pignot starts from two bodies of texts: on the one hand, a collection of 80 sermons wrongly attributed to Fulgence of Ruspe and, on the other, a Latin translation of an anonymous collection of Greek philosophical maxims by Rufinus of Aquileia (IV-V^th century), an author who played an important role in the transmission of Greek thought in late antiquity in the West.

The methodology favored by Matthieu Pignot for this research involves the use of digital publishing. The aim? "To bring into existence and enhance the value of these texts, which don't have the privilege of having an author's name, and some of which haven't even been printed. What's more, stylistic and linguistic analysis tools will perhaps make it possible to provide clues about the author, or at least to group texts together, based on recurring writing tics."

With this project, Matthieu Pignot also aims to develop the automated manuscript transcription component, which is still under development. "My aim is to contribute to the improvement of these tools through my own transcriptions and to participate in the dynamic of interest in medieval manuscripts in archives and libraries", concludes the researcher.

Matthieu Pignot is a member of the research center PraME("Pratiques médiévales de l'écrit"), part of the research institute PaTHs ("Patrimoines, Transmissions, Héritages"). He also collaborates with the Institut d'études augustiniennes (Paris) and the University of Nijmegen.

I was fascinated by the research field of one of my professors, Guy Demortier. He was working on the characterization of antique jewelry. He had found a way to differentiate by PIXE (Proton Induced X-ray Emission) analysis between antique and modern brazes that contained Cadmium, the presence of this element in antique jewelry being controversial at the time. He was interested in ancient soldering methods in general, and the granulation technique in particular. He studied them at the Laboratoire d'Analyses par Réaction Nucléaires (LARN). Brazing is an assembly operation involving the fusion of a filler metal (e.g. copper- or silver-based) without melting the base metal. This phenomenon allows a liquid metal to penetrate first by capillary action and then by diffusion at the interface of the metals to be joined, making the junction permanent after solidification. Among the jewels of antiquity, we find brazes made with incredible precision, the ancient techniques are fascinating.

In fact, this was one of Namur's fields of research at the time: heritage sciences. Professor Demortier was conducting studies on a variety of jewels, but those made by the Etruscans using the so-called granulation technique, which first appeared in Eturia in the 8th century BC, are particularly incredible. It consists of depositing hundreds of tiny gold granules, up to two-tenths of a millimeter in diameter, on the surface to be decorated, and then soldering them onto the jewel without altering its fineness. So I also trained in brazing techniques and physical metallurgy.

I applied for a position as a physicist at CERN in the field of vacuum and thin films, but was invited for the position of head of the vacuum brazing department. This department is very important for CERN as it studies methods for assembling particularly delicate and precise parts for accelerators. It also manufactures prototypes and often one-off parts. Broadly speaking, vacuum brazing is the same technique as the one we study at Namur, except that it is carried out in a vacuum chamber. This means no oxidation, perfect wetting of the brazing alloys on the parts to be assembled, and very precise temperature control to obtain very precise assemblies (we're talking microns!). I'd never heard of vacuum brazing, but my experience of Etruscan brazing, metallurgy and my background in applied physics as taught at Namur were of particular interest to the selection committee. They hired me right away!

CERN is primarily known for hosting particle accelerators, including the famous LHC (Large Hadron Collider), a 27 km circumference accelerator buried some 100 m underground, which accelerates particles to 99.9999991% of the speed of light! CERN's research focuses on technology and innovation in many fields: nuclear physics, cosmic rays and cloud formation, antimatter research, the search for rare phenomena (such as the Higgs boson) and a contribution to neutrino research. It is also the birthplace of the World Wide Web (WWW). There are also projects in healthcare, medicine and partnerships with industry.

For my part, in addition to developing vacuum brazing methods, a field in which I've worked for over 20 years, I've worked a lot in parallel for the CLOUD experiment. For over 10 years, and until recently, I was its Technical Coordinator. CLOUD is a small but fascinating experiment at CERN which studies cloud formation and uses a particle beam to reproduce atomic bombardment in the laboratory in the manner of galactic radiation in our atmosphere. Using an ultra-clean 26 m³ cloud chamber, precise gas injection systems, electric fields, UV light systems and multiple detectors, we reproduce and study the Earth's atmosphere to understand whether galactic rays can indeed influence climate. This experiment calls on various fields of applied physics, and my background at UNamur has helped me once again.

I was also responsible for CERN's MACHINA project -Movable Accelerator for Cultural Heritage In situ Non-destructive Analysis - carried out in collaboration with the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Florence section - Italy. Together, we have created the first portable proton accelerator for in-situ, non-destructive analysis in heritage science. MACHINA is soon to be used at the OPD (Opificio delle Pietre Dure), one of the oldest and most prestigious art restoration centers, also in Florence. The accelerator is also destined to travel to other museums or restoration centers.

ELISA uses the same accelerator cavity as MACHINA. The public can observe a proton beam extracted just a few centimetres from their eyes. Demonstrations are organized to show various physical phenomena, such as light production in gases or beam deflection with dipoles or quadrupoles, for example. The PIXE analysis method is also presented. ELISA is also a high-performance accelerator that we use for research projects in the field of heritage and others such as thin films, which are used extensively at CERN. The special feature is that the scientists who come to work with us do so in front of the public!

I remember that in 1989, I finished typing my report for my IRSIA fellowship in the middle of the night, the day before the deadline. It had to be in by midnight the next day. There were very few computers back then, so I typed my report at the last minute on one of the secretaries' Macs. One false move and pow! all my data was gone - big panic! The next day, the secretary helped me restore my file, we printed out the document and I dropped it straight into the mailbox in Brussels, where I arrived after 11pm, in extremis, because at midnight, someone had come to close the mailbox. Fortunately, technology has come a long way since then...

The proximity between teaching and research inspires and questions. This enables graduate students to move into multiple areas of working life.

Come and study in Namur!

Serge Mathot (May 2025) - Interview by Karin Derochette

• The CERN accelerators complex
• The Science Portal, CERN's public education and communication center
• Newsroom - June 2025 | The Departement of physics hosts a delegation from CERN
• Newsroom and Omalius Alumni article - September 2022 | François Briard

This article is taken from the "Experts" section of the July 2025 issue of Omalius magazine.

How did women integrate resistance movements during the 40-45 war?

Axel Tixhon: Women were found in resistance networks hiding Jewish children, Allied soldiers and airmen, and political opponents. These people were often housed temporarily before being exfiltrated by escape routes from the occupied territories to Spain and then Great Britain. The hiding networks relied on small family units, hermetically sealed from the outside world, but very open on the inside. Naturally, when a family welcomed someone under its roof, all its members, especially the women, took part. Their involvement was therefore an extension of the traditional role they played at the time.

We also observe profiles of emancipated women. For example, Louise-Marie Danhaive, known for her literary activities before the war, became involved in the underground press. She thus broke away from the traditional role of women. There were also lesser-known personalities such as Juliette Bernard. Involved in a folk group in Fosses-la-Ville before the war, she was to enter the Resistance, mainly in the intelligence sector and helping Communist Party supporters.

Although quite rare, some women also took up arms, like Madeleine Tasset (Andenne), a photo of whom has been found showing her handling a machine gun and wearing secret army garb.

Resistance women have often been invisibilized, how do you explain this?

Bénédicte Rochet: First of all, there are factors specific to the history of Belgian resistance and politics. In the aftermath of the 2nd World War, the government had to deal with thousands of resistance fighters, some of whom were armed, while others were part of the Front de l'indépendance, a predominantly Communist network whose size raised fears of revolution in our country. Churchill and Roosevelt urged the Belgian government to take back the reins of power and maintain order, relying on official police forces and the Belgian army. In this context, the resistance was denigrated and, above all, disarmed.

From November 1944 onwards, resistance fighters demonstrated to gain recognition for their status. These demonstrations were to be swept under the carpet by the government and even the press. Even today, commemorations focus mainly on the army. And when we talk about the Resistance, we pay tribute to those who died during the war.

Many women, moreover, won't apply for status recognition because they don't identify with the military connotation associated with it at the time. What's more, since they often joined the resistance with the whole family unit, it was the father of the family who would submit the application for recognition. All this contributed to the invisibilization of resistance fighters.

A.T.: At the symposium, Ellen De Soete, founder of the Coalition 8 mai, gave a very moving testimony. She explained how her mother, an arrested and tortured resistance fighter, built her whole life on silence. Her ordeal was the consequence of the fact that others had spoken out. It was therefore essential for her to keep silent so as not to endanger her children. If they knew, they too might be tortured. It was only at the end of her life that she began to speak out. Ellen De Soete explained that, as children, their mother forbade them to go out or invite friends to the house. The scars caused by the war often went beyond the individuals themselves to have an impact on the whole family, including subsequent generations. It was this culture of silence that contributed to the invisibility of women resistance fighters.

B.R.: Starting in the 60s and 70s, there was a shift with gender studies. Studies would initially focus on women at work and women's rights, but not at all on their role in wartime contexts. It wasn't until the late 90s and early 2000s, therefore, that history turned its attention to women resistance fighters during the 40-45 war.

At the symposium, you also addressed the relationship between today's far right and gender issues. Women's rights are often undermined by far-right parties, yet in France, Italy and Germany, the leading figures of these parties are women. How can we explain this contradiction?

A.T.: It's hard to answer, as it seems so illogical. It seems more like an opportunistic posture than a desire to make the genders equal in society. The presence of women at the head of far-right movements in Europe is a means of deradicalizing the discourse. We also know that, in the political communication of the far right, there's no shortage of paradoxes. In a way, these parties like to play up the gap between what is expected of political figures and what they say or do. So a woman who makes a speech that's borderline masculinist is acceptable in these parties, whereas it wouldn't be in a traditional party.

B.R.: The political scientists who took part in the symposium also provided an element of response that joins and completes the story. In their platforms, these parties claim to defend women's right to a sense of security. They tell them: you're lucky, you're free and you live in a context of freedom of expression, but you lack physical security. And who puts this security at risk? It's these migrants, these foreigners who rape our women and who are designated as the common enemy. This talk of security can affect some women. Those who joined the Nazi party as early as the 30s, did so with the idea of living in a secure society sheltered from the violence of Communists, Jews, etc.

Did Nazism also rely on great female figures?

B.R.:We only began to look at the women of the Third Reich in the 1990s. Women often played a role as wives. Examples include Magda Goebbels, wife of Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, or Emmy Sonnemann, wife of Hermann Göring. These women played a role in networking and supporting the regime, organizing dinners and receptions, for example. Jonathan Glazer's recent film, "The Zone of Interest", illustrates this role of women. It focuses on the family of the Auschwitz camp commandant. It shows how his wife establishes a welcoming family climate and thus plays an important role in supporting her husband, even though she knows what's going on in the camp on the other side of his garden wall.

Aside from wives, over 500,000 women enlisted for the Third Reich, as camp guards, nurses and so on. And then there were a few personalities who didn't act as wives. Leni Riefenstahl, for example, made documentary films that supported the party.

A.T.: And these were probably the most effective films of Nazi propaganda!

The Nazi party's program for women has evolved over the years. In the '30s, it was all about keeping women safe. In the 40s, women's role was to produce babies to support the Aryan race. And then, in 43, as the Nazis realized they were losing the war, the cursor moved again: women were then engaged in the war industry.

Memorial work among the general public often focuses on the consequences of Nazism, less on the mechanisms and rhetoric that enabled the Nazis to come to power. Are the methods and rhetoric of the time similar to those of today's far right?

A.T.: Yes, for example in the search for scapegoats and the development of fears. At the symposium, political scientists spoke of "moral panics". Today, the far right insists, for example, on the decline of moral values, pointing the finger at transgender people or people with different sexual preferences. It will insist on the need to transform the social model to return to a traditional one, all the while instilling fear. The instrumentalization of fears is the foundation of the electoral strategy of far-right parties, either by accentuating fears that exist, or by literally giving them birth.

We know that anti-Semitism existed beforehand, but the Nazis attached to it many violent and dehumanizing discourses, to justify the extermination of the Jews. Violence was, from then on, justified by the fact that Jewish, gypsy and homosexual populations were dangerous.

The same pattern can be found today in some of the aggressive rhetoric coming from far-right or, more generally, extremist groupuscules. These speeches could lead some to justify violence similar to that of the 40-45 war against these so-called threats to society.

B.R.: The rhetoric is also similar. Both in the Nazi party and in today's far-right parties, we're faced with tribunes who, like Hitler or Goebbels, love monologues. They give speeches that assert truths and create moral panic. On the other hand, all these tribunes are in trouble when they have to debate ideas.

It's much the same today. In an adversarial debate, Donald Trump will, for example, go into conflict, as he did with President Zelenski. Göring, Hitler and Goebbels did exactly the same thing. Sound archives of the Reichstag fire trial have been found in which Göring can be heard going completely out of his depth when put in contradiction with one of the defendants or one of the lawyers.

So these similarities should alert us to the dangers of today's extreme right?

A.T.: Yes. This is the aim of "Coalition 8 mai", created by Ellen De Soete, who realized that, during commemorations, we perpetuate the same gestures, but have often lost the meaning of them. Today, however, there is every reason to fear that the horrors of 40-45 could be repeated. The association wants to raise public awareness of this danger. That's why it has asked the History Department to organize this symposium.

Copyrights (in order of appearance):

• Louise-Marie Danhaive
• Imprimerie clandestine à Liège, 1944 - © Cegesoma
• Madeleine Tasset - copyright: © Collection M. Tasset, Bibliotheca Andana
• Irma Caldow in Solre-sur-Sambre circa 1943-1944 - © Cegesoma
• The kiss on GI September 1944 - © Cegesoma